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GMC Hoops Summaries--December 29, 2009
Holiday Tournaments--South Amboy Tourney--Championship

Smith Leads Rams To First Holiday Tourney Title In Five Years, 65-57

By Greg Machos
December 29, 2009

SOUTH AMBOY, NJ--In the Championship Game of the 2009 South Amboy Holiday Tournament, the South River Rams were looking to do something they hadn't done for a while, and that was to win a holiday tournament title. Not since the 2004 South Amboy Tournament when the Rams different the host school, Guvs, 51-45, have they had anything to cheer about over the holidays. And, for a while in the second half, it looked like South River was going to come up empty again.

However, the Rams, which started the season before bouncing back with two straight wins, showed a side that they haven't had in recent years. A side that featured a team coming from behind for victory. Last year in the opening round of the 2008 South Amboy Tournament, the Rams had a victory in their sights against South Amboy, but let it slip away. This time, South River, led by their new coach, Rodney Harris, wasn't going to let that happen.

After being outscored by a 20-10 margin in the third quarter to trail by a score of 45-40 heading in to the fourth, the Rams fought back with a 25-12 surge including a steal for a layup by sophomore Larry Smith for a 59-57 lead with 1:40 to play en route to a 65-57 victory and its first holiday tournament championship in five years. The last time the Rams won a holiday tournament, they not only qualified for the state tournament, but reached the semifinals.

Smith ended up with a game high 17 points on six field goals and five foul shots while junior Nick Boyler added 14 points on three field goals and eight free throws. Brandon Walsh and Xavier Foster each chipped in with 13 points as Walsh made three field goals and seven foul shots while Foster, who scored 10 points in the final frame, made three field goals, a three pointer, and four foul shots. Dan Frederick led all scorers with 26 points on ten field goals and six free throws for Henry Hudson while Mike Lucas added 14 points on four field goals and two threes and David Searcy contributed with 10 on five field goals.

The difference in this game was the foul shooting. While the Admirals from the Shore Conference's Class B Central Division had more field goals (22-19) and three pointers (2-1), they were outshot at the free throw line. The Rams made 24 from the charity stripe while Henry Hudson only made seven. Each team outscored the other in two of the four periods with South River winning the first and last quarter while Henry Hudson won the middle two periods. The difference was that the Rams won each of their periods by bigger margins.

Early on, it looked like South River was going to win easily in this one. The Rams jumped out to an 11-4 lead over the first 4:50 of the opening period as they got a steal and assist by Walsh on a layup by Shawn Fenton (6 points), and then two free throws from Boyler at the 3:10 mark for the seven point lead. The Rams then went up by nine as the Admirals threw away a pass that was picked up by Smith for a layup, and a 13-4 edge at the 2:10 mark. South River maintained that lead for a bit as Smith sank two foul shots at the 1:03 mark for a 15-6 lead, but Henry Hudson ended the quarter with a 6-3 run including an offensive rebound for a score to make it 16-10 after one.

The Admirals continued to chip away at the deficit with a 6-4 start to the second that included a basket and the foul at the 6:30 mark. Walsh kept South River in front with a layup and a layin for a 20-16 lead. Henry Hudson crept closer though with a 4-3 run to make it a 23-20 game before Walsh put the Rams back up by five with two foul shots at the 3:45 mark. The Admirals then tied it at 25-25 with five straight points over the next 1:15 including a three pointer at the 3:14 mark, and a layup at the 2:30 mark. However, South River scored the final five points of the half to go into the locker room ahead, 30-25.

Foster sank a jumper to put the Rams back out in front, and then Boyler made two free throws for a 29-25 lead at the 1:47 mark. Fenton then came up with a blocked shot at the 21.5 second mark, and then the Rams made one of two from the line with 14.8 seconds remaining in the half for a five point edge at the intermission. The second half though started out with South River struggling and Henry Hudson taking advantage as the Admirals doubled the Rams quarter output with a 20-10 showing for a five point lead of their own. Henry Hudson started out strong with a 6-1 spurt including a layin to tie things up at 31-31 before Smith made two foul shots at the 5:57 mark for a 33-31 lead.

The Admirals continued to surge though with five of the next seven points over a span of 1:33 including one of two from the foul line for a 36-35 lead at the 4:24 mark. Henry Hudson then added another score on a layup prior to a 30 second timeout by the Rams with just under four minutes to go in the third. The stoppage didn't halt the Shore Conference school as it increased its lead to five with a 7-5 run to close out the third. Highlighting the run was a three pointer from the top of the key by Lucas for a 45-40 score heading into the fourth. In the final period, the Rams came out with a vengeance to take the game.

South River started off the fourth with five unanswered points including a steal for a layup by Boyler as he was fouled for a three point play, and a 45-45 tie with 7:13 to go. Frederick responded with two free throws at the 5:57 mark to highlight a back and forth segment that saw the Rams take the lead twice only to have the Admirals tie it right back up. Moments later though, Henry Hudson seemed to take control of the game by getting into the bonus, and making one of two from the line to start a 5-0 run that included another a layup by Frederick for a 54-49 advantage with 4:45 remaining.

Showing a resiliency that they haven't had in quite some time, these Rams fought back starting with a three pointer from the right wing by Foster, and then a layup to tie the game up at 54-54 with 3:51 left. Foster then made one of two from the line with 3:06 to play for a 55-54 lead only to have the Admirals respond with one of two from the line at the 2:42 mark for a 55-55 tie. Walsh then sank a pair of free throws to put the Rams ahead again at 57-55 with 2:18 to play, but Frederick answered with two of his own foul shots at the other end to knot things back up at 57-57 with 2:05 remaining in regulation.

South River then had a chance to take the lead, but a shot rolled out on the Rams before Henry Hudson called a 30 second timeout with 1:47 left. Right after the timeout, the Admirals inbounded the ball only to have it stolen by Smith, who raced in from the left wing for the go ahead layup and foul. He missed the bonus free throw, but the Rams were ahead for good. Walsh and Foster helped seal the 65-57 victory with free throws down the stretch after Foster gave the Rams a four point lead. With the win, South River won its third straight, and improved to 3-2 overall while Henry Hudson slipped to 1-3 on the year.

See details on the final day of action in this tournament, and video highlights from this game in the GMC Hoops Blogosphere.

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